BJP wins most seats in MCD zonal, standing committee polls

The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) held elections on Wednesday for the posts of chairperson and deputy chairperson of its 12 zonal ward committees, as well as for six vacant seats on the 18-member standing committee, with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) winning most of the seats

The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) held elections on Wednesday for the posts of chairperson and deputy chairperson of its 12 zonal ward committees, as well as for six vacant seats on the 18-member standing committee, with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) winning most of the seats.

Elections for standing committee members were held in the Najafgarh, Shahdara South, Keshav Puram, Narela, Central and Karol Bagh zones. (HT Archive)

In the elections for chairperson and deputy chairperson, the BJP won both posts in the Najafgarh, Shahdara South, Shahdara North, Keshav Puram, Narela, Civil Lines and Central zones.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) won both posts in the Rohini and Karol Bagh zones.

The BJP bagged the chairperson posts in both the City SP and West zones, while the deputy chairperson posts in both were won by the AAP.

Elections for standing committee members were held in the Najafgarh, Shahdara South, Keshav Puram, Narela, Central and Karol Bagh zones. The BJP won in the first five zones, while the AAP won in Karol Bagh. Shashi Yadav from Najafgarh, Munesh from Shahdara South, Sushil from Keshav Puram, Pawan Kumar from Narela and Hemchand Goel from the Central zone are the new BJP members of the standing committee. The AAP’s Rajan Arora won in the Karol Bagh zone.

After Wednesday’s elections, the standing committee comprises 12 BJP councillors and six AAP councillors. The elections came after nine standing committee members retired through a draw of lots on March 31.

Members were elected to three of the nine vacant seats by the MCD House on April 29. Elections for the remaining six seats, along with those for the chairperson and deputy chairperson posts of the ward committees, were first scheduled for May 23, then postponed to June 3, and later cancelled without the municipal corporation citing a reason.

Due to the delay, several proposals have been pending in the corporation, as the committee has been non-functional since the retirement process was carried out. Financial decisions that fall solely under its purview have been on hold pending the filling of the vacant seats. The standing committee is responsible for approving financial decisions involving more than ₹5 crore, with all major proposals requiring its approval before being sent to the MCD House for further approval. Councillors had said that the corporation was unable to implement multiple proposals announced in the budget due to the delay.